The company also made a licensing deal with Foursquare that will
let Microsoft use Foursquare's data in its products. Foursquare's
dataset is one of the most valuable assets of the company, and
already powers the location services on apps like Uber, Instagram
and Pinterest.

"This is a big deal for us," Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, whose
company just raised a $35 million Series D in December, told Fast Company. "It started off as
partnership talks, but those conversations ended up leading to
strategic investment conversations."

Microsoft now has more skin in the game when it comes to
Foursquare's success, and will benefit from getting the company's
potent location data. However, Foursquare's deal with Microsoft
is nonexclusive, meaning it could make other partnerships down
the road.